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A barber who went out on to the streets to give food to the homeless each week has died of a rare form of cancer.

Thousands of mourners attended the funeral of Mohammed Safdar, 35, after his death on May 10.

Known to his friends as "Saf", Mr Safdar, from Derby, went out into the community every week to help those less fortunate.

DerbyshireLive reports that Mr Safdar worked at the family business, which he took over around a decade ago when his father Pola Khan died.

He was well-known for his charitable work, which included handing out food to vulnerable and homeless people in Derby city centre every Thursday.

The 35-year-old was something of a mentor to young people who would visit him at PK's in Pear Tree Road

He also acted as a mentor to younger people in the community from his base at the family business.

The 3,000-capacity Derby Jamia Mosque was completely full with mourners and the service, which was held on the same day that Mr Safdar passed away, was believed to be one of the biggest funerals the place of worship has ever seen.

Mr Safdar's brother, Mohammed Sarwar, said it was a "massive blow" to discover that Mr Safdar had stage-four olfactory neuroblastoma - a cancerous tumour in his nose - back in January.

The father-of-three said: "Saf was a regular gym-goer in peak physical fitness.

"He wouldn't even drink tap water - he would boil it or drink mineral water. Originally he was quite a chubby guy but he became very athletic."

Late last year, after returning from an annual spiritual retreat in Pakistan with his brother Mr Sarwar and around a dozen other people, Mr Safdar began to suffer cold-like symptoms.

Mohammed Safdar, left, set up a weekly project in which he fed homeless and vulnerable people across Derby

Mr Sarwar, 38, said: "He was off work for a week. Then two weeks. Then three weeks.

"He tried antibiotics and it didn't work. That's when they did a scan and it was realised then that he had a tumour."

Mr Safdar had endured two courses of chemotherapy, and was about to start six weeks of intensive radiotherapy, when doctors told his family the news they were dreading.

Mr Sarwar said: "Saf was shaking, and he was a strong guy.

"He said his tongue felt like it had been sunburnt.

"The doctor asked him, out of 10, how much pain he was in. He said 10.

"For someone like him to say that, you can just imagine. What he was going through is beyond comprehension.

"The doctors decided to change to palliative care. They told me at that point that his condition was incurable. That was like someone hitting a hammer on my head."

At that point, in February, doctors believed Mr Safdar could have just weeks or months to live.

Mr Safdar, left, was known as 'Saf' to his friends

Mr Sarwar said: "His condition did deteriorate. He always had hope that he would pull through. But he was in a lot of pain and he was struggling."

He died at the Royal Derby Hospital on the morning of May 10. His Muslim family took comfort in the fact that he died on the holiest day of the week - a Friday - and during the month of Ramadan.

Mr Safdar was a Sufi Muslim and, as is traditional in the religion, was guided by a guru in the form of Sheikh Muhammad Tahir.

It was the teachings of Sheikh Tahir that encouraged Mr Safdar to be more charitable.

His brother said: "The sheikh's teaching was to spread love in the community.

"Saf came back with that and started this project where he approached local businesses, like Pak Foods, who would sponsor him with £100 or £150 a time.

"Then he would go around all the homeless centres, streets, churches, and hand out different foods.

"Sometimes chicken and chips, sometimes a curry. He had a group of lads that would help."

Charitable

Mr Sarwar knew his brother, who went to Derby Moor Community School and Mackworth College, was charitable, but he did not realise the full extent of his work until after he died.

He said: "I underestimated it myself. I didn't have a full appreciation of him. When people tell me their stories I realise how much he did for people."

A page has been set up to raise money to fund ongoing charity work in Mr Safdar's name following his death.

More than 100 people have donated over £2,500 to support Mr Safdar's homelessness food project, community projects and foreign aid.

Contributors to the fund called him "an amazing and influential individual amongst the youth" and "always there to help".

Mr Sarwar said, just over a week after his brother's death, the shock and loss is beginning to set in.

He said: "The reality hits when the community gets back to their normal lives. You've got that missing gap - Saf isn't there any more."

Readers may make a donation to the fundraising page by visiting this site .